


Where There Is Love (I'll Be There)

by skimmy77



Series: Havenrock [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Grief/Mourning, lil bit of fluff, lil bit of kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 21:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6873271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skimmy77/pseuds/skimmy77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity works on the presentation for the Board, and Oliver comforts her some more. Follows "After The Storm."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where There Is Love (I'll Be There)

Oliver returned to the bunker, after a full day contributing to the Star City rebuild effort, to find Felicity at her computers, typing furiously. Almost manically. The last time he had seen her in this state was when they found out Ray Palmer was alive. Only this time, there were no empty junk food wrappers around, which meant she hadn’t eaten at all since whatever this was began.

“Felicity?” Oliver walked up the steps to see what she was working on. To his dismay, news reports on the bombing, statistics on Havenrock, and FEMA updates filled a number of screens. Felicity made notes on another screen, occasionally dragging an article into her document. He watched her for about five minutes before saying anything. She didn’t notice him the entire time.

“Felicity,” he murmured, walking closer. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she mumbled, her eyes never leaving the screen. “Be right with you, in the middle of something.”

“I can see that.” He peered at the document she was building with a little more curiosity. The title bar read: ‘Palmer Tech Presentation May 2016,’ and Oliver finally understood. “I guess your meeting went well?”

“Mm-hmm,” she said distractedly.

Oliver nibbled on his lower lip. “How much sleep did you get?”

Felicity shrugged. “I’m fine.”

With a sigh, he leaned over to get a good look at her face. There were noticeable bags under her lower lids, and the outer corners of her eyes were red with a web of burst capillaries. Her complexion was a little pale, which was understandable since she spent most of her time underground these days.

Oliver wanted to interrupt her to insist she get some rest, but he knew that manic look in her eyes meant interruption was a bad idea. Instead, he headed down to the kitchenette to brew her some coffee and make her a sandwich.

He returned beside her and waved the coffee in her face.

“Oh!” She stared at the mug with a greedy expression. “You are the best, ever,” she gushed, before grabbing the mug with both hands and taking a sip.

He jumped on the opportunity. “Take five minutes, Felicity. Eat.” He placed the sandwich in front of her.

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re worse than my mother.”

“Someone has to take care of you,” he bantered back.

“Thank you.” She tore into the sandwich with enthusiasm. “First thing I’ve eaten all day,” she mumbled through a mouthful of turkey and bread.

Oliver glanced at his watch. “It’s almost 8 o’clock!”

“I’ve been busy,” she dismissed with a shrug.

Oliver huffed in annoyance. “Is this how I get?”

Felicity smiled. “Not really. Your way tends to involve more arrows and punching.”

“Touché,” Oliver conceded with a nod. He waited in silence while she finished her sandwich, and when she was done, he said, “Tell me about your meeting.”

She kept her eyes on her coffee as she spoke. “I told him a tiny bit of the truth. Not much, just that it could have been worse. I gave him a big speech about Palmer Tech leading the way to a brighter future, and it got through to him. So, I have to present something at the next board meeting. Hopefully I can get back in as CEO, and use their resources to make a significant impact.” Her brows furrowed at the word _impact,_ and she shook her head. “Poor word choice.”

Oliver placed a hand on her knee, showing comfort through action where words failed him.

She took one more sip and lowered the mug to her desk. “I’m gonna get back to it,” she said, glancing at Oliver briefly before returning her attention to the screen. “I’m in the zone right now.”

“Okay,” he relented. “I’m gonna shower.” He grabbed the empty plate and headed down the stairs.

“I forgot to ask you! How is it going out there?”

He paused in his steps to look at her. “Pretty well,” he said, smiling. “It’s slow going, but most people are optimistic.”

She beamed at him. “That’s because you’ve given them hope.”

He ducked his head as a blush crept up his neck. “They’re giving each other hope,” he said, deflecting her praise.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Oliver. You’re an inspiration to this city. I’m proud of you.”

Her words pierced straight through to his heart, momentarily robbing his breath, spreading warmth in his chest. The pride in her eyes felt like a tangible thing, reaching into his soul and quenching a thirst he’d long forgotten. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice overcome with emotion.

“Yeah,” she replied, smiling, and Oliver basked in the affectionate silence for what felt like an eternity.

Then she nodded once, retreated back into herself, and turned back to the monitors.

Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding onto the moment just a bit longer, and then continued walking toward the kitchenette.

After a shower and some journaling time, he checked on her again before calling it a night. She was still typing, but the rhythm was jerky, sporadic. Her eyes were glazed over with exhaustion, the bags under her eyes even deeper. Her lids closed sluggishly a couple of times before they popped wide open, and Oliver decided it was time to intervene.

“Come on,” he whispered, tugging on her hand. “I’ll take you home.”

“No,” she whined, pulling her hand back. “I have to keep going.”

“Felicity, you need sleep. You can come back to this in the morning.”

“I can’t,” she said, shaking her head.

“Of course you can. The board meeting isn’t until the end of the month. You have plenty of time.”

“I mean I can’t…” Her voice broke. “I can’t sleep.”

Oliver shut his eyes with a sigh. _Of course._ He knelt in front of her, clutching her hands. “Nightmares?”

She nodded once, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

He reached up to wipe it away with his thumb. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

She nodded again.

“Okay.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get you home.”

She tensed up. “Can we stay here?” Her voice was small, childlike, and it broke Oliver’s heart.

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly. “Sure. We can stay here.”

He led her toward the living quarters in the back, handing her one of his t-shirts before ushering her to the bathroom. Once he heard the shower running, he headed to the cot to get it ready for Felicity. When twenty minutes passed with the shower still going, he poked his head through the bathroom door to check on her.

“Felicity?”

At the sound of one sobbing gasp, he entered without hesitation.

He found her sitting on the floor of the shower, arms wrapped around her knees as her body shook with silent sobs. Oliver tore off his clothes until only his boxers remained, and he stepped into the spray and sat down beside her.

“I’m here,” he whispered, gathering her into his arms. And just like last night, Felicity fell apart in the safety of his embrace.

The water had long gone cold by the time her cries died down, the silence now punctuated by her breathy hiccups. Oliver turned off the water and carried her out of the shower. He placed her on her feet, and she stood practically catatonic as he dried her off and wrapped her in his robe. His desire for her body was easily dismissed under the concern for her emotional health.

“I got you,” he whispered as he carried her, bridal style, out of the bathroom and onto the bed. He tucked her under the covers and sighed with relief as her breathing finally slowed, the space between each hiccup growing longer.

Oliver leaned over and touched his forehead to hers. He hoped his presence would chase the nightmares away, but he knew from experience that nothing would stop them. The best he could do was be there for her when she woke up, and hold her through them as she grieved.

Felicity would get through this, eventually, and he was determined to be by her side until she did.

***

A sharp gasp from the bed jerked Oliver from a light doze, his chin falling off the hand propped on the bed. He looked down to see Felicity panting and trembling, her eyes wide open with terror.

“Hey,” he whispered, cupping her cheek. Her eyes darted to his, shock and relief battling for control. “I’m here.”

She stared into his eyes as if clinging to a life raft, taking deep breaths to regain her composure. “Not real,” she mumbled to herself, reaching for his arm, clutching it in a death grip as if trying to keep him from disappearing. “Not real,” she repeated with a sigh.

“I’m right here,” he said, guessing at the contents of her nightmare. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She closed her eyes with a sob of relief, tears streaming out of her eyes and down to her ear. When she opened them again, desperation filled her gaze.

Then she pulled him down by the neck and covered his lips with hers.

Oliver blinked in surprise and pulled back, reluctantly. “Hey, what’s happening right now?”

“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded, her voice strangled with tears. “I need you.”

“I’m right here,” he promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please.” She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him back down to her lips, holding him there like her life depended on it.

Oliver stopped thinking and lost himself in the kiss, giving her whatever she needed. Her hand reached down to scrabble at his hips, trying to yank him onto the bed.

“Felicity—“ he started to protest.

“Please,” she repeated, tugging at his waist.

Swallowing his reticence, he climbed on top of her as she continued her assault on his lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him down with surprising strength.

“Make love to me,” she begged, her tone on the edge of hysteria.

Oliver cursed himself for hesitating, the need to give Felicity anything she wanted battling with alarms going off in his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” he whispered mournfully.

 _“Please.”_ Tears flowed faster as her voice started to shake. “I need you. I need you to love me.”

“I do love you,” he assured her. “With all my heart. There’s nothing in heaven or earth that would make me stop loving you.”

“Even being a murderer?”

His heart broke. “You’re not a murderer,” he said with a frown. “But even if you were, no. Not even that would make me stop loving you.”

She closed her eyes in relief, accepting his words with a nod. “Please,” she said, looking into his eyes with a deep soul hunger. “I need to feel it. I need to feel how much you love me.”

Still, he hesitated. “There’s nothing I want more, Felicity. But I’m worried that doing that right now, when our emotions are so high, somewhere down the line it’ll backfire on us.”

“It won’t,” she said, shaking her head.

It killed him to deny her this, but he had to try one more time. “I don’t have any condoms.”

“I don’t care.”

With those three words, his mind emptied with clarity. Felicity in her right mind would never say that. “Let’s wait until tomorrow,” he implored. “At least until I can get some, so we don’t have to worry about any…accidents. It’s the last thing you need right now.”

Like flipping a switch, Felicity shut down and withdrew into herself, pulling away from his body.

“Hey.” He cradled her face and searched out her gaze. “This is not a rejection. I just need you to have a little patience, okay?”

She still wouldn’t look at him.

With a sigh, he peppered kisses all over her face. “I love you, Felicity,” he murmured on her skin. “I love you,” he repeated, as he trailed kisses down her neck. He continued declaring his love as he kissed down her arms, into her palms, and on each finger that delivered both salvation and inescapable devastation. He held her fingers against his lips and whispered, “I love you.”

Felicity started shaking as sobs overtook her again. “Please hold me?”

“Of course.” He shifted onto the bed beside her before wrapping his arms around her body, tucking her head into his neck. “I love you,” he continued to whisper, “and I will never, ever leave you.”

He held her while she shook; he held her until her sobs died down, until her breathing evened out and deepened with sleep. He repeated the words she needed as she slept, hoping they would ease her tortured soul and keep the nightmares at bay.

He fell asleep with the words on his lips.


End file.
